Cal Ripken Gets Statue at Camden Yards on Night of Huge Orioles Win

I found myself getting a little choked up last night watching Cal Ripken's speech for his statue unveiling at Camden Yards. Cal Ripken is my favorite sports player of all time (Emmitt Smith is my second in case anyone is wondering). His speech was from the heart and I was glad he acknowledged that the Orioles are back to their wining ways.

Here is a transcript of Ripken's speech:

Thank you, thank you. Just for the record, just because you stood up and clapped, I’m not taking a lap around the ball park again. Those days are over, thank you. In the beginning, I wasn’t sure what to expect from these bronze statue ceremonies. Sure these statues are for pretty good Oriolesbaseball players, but at the same time a familiar kind of Orioles magic started to appear, the magic of the Oriole Way. A deep-rooted connection developed over generations, made up of people who dedicated their lives tobaseball in Baltimore. Sure, it’s a game, right? Well, not to this group. Baseball was, and is, about excellence on and off the field; baseball was, and is, about teamwork; baseball was, and is, about community. Baseball, in the end, was and is about family, one big family, the Oriole family.

Speaking of families, I want to thank the Angelos family for their renewed connection with the rich history of the Orioles. Thank you so much, Mr. Angelos, thank you so much, Mrs. Angelos, John and Lou for creating and capturing that spirit of the Oriole way through these wonderful works of art. Thank you very much. I am honored to look out and see myself among the players whose sculptures stand here. Through these statues, we all are reminded what it means to be an Oriole: local ownership, local pride, representing Baltimore and the State of Maryland in the best possible way for the rest of the country and the world. And, I might add, being an Oriole is also about playing meaningful games in September. Congratulations to Buck Showalter and his Oriole team for a great and exciting season, we are all behind you.

Transcript taken from: Baltimore Sun

The Orioles also had a game to play last night as they took on the division rival New York Yankees. The Orioles started out strong with a six to one lead but, the Yankees fought back to tie it in the eighth inning. Then the Orioles bats exploded when Adam Jones, Mark Reynolds and Chris Davis all hit home runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take the lead.

This was a good night for the Orioles and Cal Ripken. The Orioles won to help secure a tie with the Yankees atop the AL East and Orioles fans from my generation were able to see the Ironman on the field at Camden Yards one more time.

Watch the video below

http://youtu.be/tSLnmPBEbkk

[ESPN]